JP7310531B2 - vehicle motor - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle motor applied to electric vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.

In electric vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles equipped with a motor (including a motor generator) as a power source for running, the motor must be provided with an insulator (soundproofing material) in order to improve the quietness inside and outside the vehicle. is being done. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an electric vehicle that suppresses noise during operation by providing an insulator on the outer periphery of a motor generator.

On the other hand, it is known that the torque performance of a motor decreases due to the temperature rise of the rotor (coil). As described above, a motor has been developed in which a flow path is provided inside the motor to circulate cooling water (cooling liquid). This type of motor is provided with a plug for draining the cooling water on its lower surface, and has a structure in which the plug can be removed and the cooling water can be drained from the motor during maintenance.

JP 2018-50385 A JP 2016-149900 A

Motors of the type in which cooling water circulates are also required to be provided with insulators from the viewpoint of quietness of the vehicle. However, if the lower surface of the motor is covered with an insulator, it is conceivable that water may enter the insulator due to wind-up while the vehicle is running, high-pressure washing of the lower surface of the vehicle, etc., and flood the plug. In such a case, the plug rusts and becomes difficult to remove during maintenance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a motor for a vehicle in which coolant circulates inside, it is possible to suppress rusting of a plug for extracting coolant while having an insulator. The purpose is to provide technology.

A motor for a vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is a motor for running mounted on a vehicle, and includes a motor body having a flow path in which a cooling liquid flows, and a motor body that is detachably attached to the lower surface of the motor body. and an insulator attached to the lower surface portion so as to cover the plug, the insulator recessed downward at least at a position corresponding to the plug, and the lower surface portion and the and a communication passage that communicates the space with the outside of the insulator.

According to this vehicle motor, even if water enters between the insulator and the motor body due to wind-up during running or high-pressure washing of the underside of the vehicle, the water will flow into the space formed by the space forming portion. The water is drained to the outside of the insulator through the communication passage. Therefore, it is effectively suppressed that the plug is submerged in water that has entered between the insulator and the motor body, and that the plug is rusted.

In this vehicle motor, it is preferable that the communication path extends from the space forming portion along the motor body and communicates with the outside on a side surface of the insulator.

For example, it is conceivable to provide a communication passage formed of a through hole in the inner bottom surface of the space forming portion. However, in this case, it is conceivable that part of the operating sound emitted from the motor main body leaks directly downward through the communication passage, impairing the soundproofing effect of the insulator. On the other hand, according to the above-described structure in which the communication path extends from the space forming portion along the motor body and communicates with the outside on the side surface of the insulator, the operating sound from the motor body is incident on the inner bottom surface of the space forming portion, or It will be reflected on the inner bottom surface. Therefore, it is possible to drain the water in the space to the outside without significantly impairing the soundproofing effect.

In this case, it is preferable that the communication path is a groove extending along the motor body.

According to this configuration, the passage is less likely to be clogged with water than, for example, a communication passage formed of a hole. Therefore, even when a large amount of water flows into the space, it is possible to drain the water relatively smoothly, which is advantageous in suppressing flooding of the plug.

In each of the vehicle motors described above, when the motor is arranged at a position deviated leftward or rightward from the center portion of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction, the communication path extends from the space forming portion. It is preferable to extend toward the central portion in the vehicle width direction.

According to this configuration, water is prevented from entering the insulator from the outside through the communication passage. In addition, in the configuration in which the insulator is provided with the space forming portion and the communication path, part of the operating noise from the motor main body leaks to the outside through the communication path. However, according to the above configuration in which the communication path extends from the space forming portion toward the center portion in the vehicle width direction, the operating noise is less likely to leak out of the vehicle, and the soundproofing effect is substantially maintained.

In each of the vehicle motors described above, it is preferable that part or all of the inner bottom surface of the space forming portion is formed of an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the communication passage.

According to this structure, water flowing into the space is smoothly guided toward the communication passage. Therefore, drainage from the space is improved.

According to the vehicle motor according to each of the aspects described above, it is possible to effectively suppress rusting of the coolant extracting plug while providing the insulator.

1 is a schematic front plan view of a vehicle in which the vehicle motor of the present invention is mounted; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle motor as seen obliquely from below (with an insulator attached); FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle motor as seen obliquely from below (with the insulator removed); FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the vehicle motor (view from arrow A in FIG. 2); It is a perspective view of an insulator. It is a top view of an insulator. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the insulator (cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6); FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insulator (a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 4);

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Schematic configuration of vehicle]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front plan view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle motor of the present invention. A vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an electric vehicle called a range extender EV. That is, the vehicle 1 is powered by a battery (secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery) (not shown) and runs by driving the wheels (front wheels) 2 with a motor 11 for running, which will be described later. In some cases, the vehicle is configured to be able to supplement the electric power of the battery by activating the power generation unit PG, which will be described later.

In the motor room Mr of the vehicle 1, there are a dash panel 4 that partitions the vehicle room Cs and the motor room Mr in the front and rear, and a pair of left and right front side frames 6 that are connected to the front side of the dash panel 4 and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. , and sub-frames (not shown) arranged below the front side frames 6 are provided.

In the space between the left and right front side frames 6, a power train PT for rotationally driving the front wheels 2, which are driving wheels of the vehicle 1, and a power generation unit PG for generating electric power for replenishing the battery are arranged. ing.

The power train PT and the power generation unit PG are supported by the left and right front side frames 6 while being suspended by the left and right front side frames 6 via mounting devices (not shown), and are also supported from below by subframes.

The power train PT includes a drive unit 10 including a motor 11 and a transaxle 12, an inverter 14, a drive shaft 16, and the like.

The motor 11 is, for example, a three-phase AC synchronous motor, and an output shaft 11a (see FIG. 2) rotates by supplying AC power having a phase difference from the inverter 14 to each of the plurality of coils of the stator. The motor 11 is arranged in the motor room Mr with an output shaft 11a extending in the width direction of the vehicle and a tip of the output shaft 11a facing leftward.

The transaxle 12 is for transmitting the output of the motor 11 to the front wheels 2 and includes a speed reduction mechanism and a differential mechanism (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the transaxle 12 is fixed to the left end face (end face on the output shaft side) of the motor 11 while receiving the output shaft 11a. By connecting the transaxle 12 and the left and right front wheels 2 via drive shafts 16, respectively, the output (rotation) of the motor 11 is transmitted to the left and right front wheels 2 via the transaxle 12 and the drive shafts 16. be done. That is, the front wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the motor 11 .

The inverter 14 is fixed above the motor 11 . The inverter 14 is connected via a cable to the battery arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 or the like, and converts the DC power of the battery into three-phase AC power having a phase difference to generate a motor power. 11.

The power generation unit PG includes a generator 17 and an engine (internal combustion engine) 18 for driving the generator. The engine 18 is, for example, a small single-cylinder reciprocating engine of about 300cc. The engine 18 is used only to drive the generator 17 and is not used directly to run the vehicle 1, that is, to drive the wheels 2. Although the engine 18 is a reciprocating engine in this example, it is not limited to this, and a rotary engine or the like is also applicable.

The power generation unit PG is arranged on the left side of the transaxle 12 and fixed integrally with the transaxle 12 . In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the power train PT (excluding the drive shaft 16) is generally on the right side of the center of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction (the position of the dashed-dotted line L in FIG. 1). In addition, the layout configuration is such that the power generation units PG are arranged on the left side.

[Structure of motor 11]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the motor 11 alone, viewed obliquely from below, more specifically, a perspective view of only the motor 11 extracted from the vehicle 1 and viewed from the lower left side of the vehicle 1 . The directions used in the following description of the motor 11 are based on the state in which the motor 11 is mounted on the vehicle 1, that is, the direction index of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG.

The motor 11 is, for example, a three-phase AC synchronous motor as described above, and includes a motor body 20 and an insulator 26 attached to the motor body 20 .

The motor body 20 includes a rotor provided with permanent magnets around the output shaft 11a, a stator composed of a plurality of coils arranged on the outer periphery of the rotor, and a motor case 22 housing the rotor and stator. ing. Three-phase AC power is supplied from the inverter 14 to each of the plurality of coils of the stator, thereby rotating the output shaft 11a (rotor).

The motor main body 20 is provided with a cooling water jacket (corresponding to the “flow passage of the cooling liquid” of the present invention) for circulating cooling water (an example of the cooling liquid of the present invention). In other words, when the temperature of the coil rises due to the energization of the coil, the increase in electrical resistance causes a decrease in torque performance (decrease in generated torque) and deterioration of the coil. temperature rise is suppressed. Cooling of the coil is performed by a cooling system (not shown) having a radiator. This cooling system includes a radiator and an electric pump, and is configured to circulate the cooling water cooled by the radiator through the motor body 20 (cooling water jacket) and the inverter 14 by the electric pump and return it to the radiator again. .

The motor case 22 has a substantially hollow cylindrical shape extending in the vehicle width direction with both ends closed. The motor case 22 is a high-strength member having high rigidity and is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy casting having a predetermined thickness.

The motor case 22 is provided with an inlet port and an outlet port for circulating the cooling water in the cooling water jacket, and a drain port for extracting the cooling water during maintenance or the like. The inlet port and the outlet port are provided on the front side portion of the motor case 22 (that is, the front surface portion of the motor 11), and the drain port is provided on the lower surface portion 22a of the motor case 22 (that is, the lower surface portion 22a of the motor 11). is provided in

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the later-described insulator 26 is removed in FIG. In this example, two water drain ports are provided at the center of the lower surface 22a of the motor case 22 in the front-rear direction, i.e., at the lowest position of the lower surface 22a at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. The extraction port is blocked by a plug 24, as shown in FIG. Each of the plugs 24 is a male screw-type plug made of metal, and is detachably screwed into the drain port from the lower side of the motor case 22 .

The insulator 26 is a soundproof member for suppressing radiation of operation noise of the motor 11 . In this example, the insulators 26 are fixed to the front surface, the rear surface, the right end surface, and the bottom surface 22a of the motor case 22, respectively. A configuration of the insulator 26 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the insulator 26 is fixed to the lower surface portion 22a of the motor 11 (motor case 22) so as to cover both plugs 24 from below.

Specifically, the insulator 26 includes an insulator main body 28 made of a sound absorbing material such as foamed polyurethane that contacts the lower surface portion 22a of the motor case 22, and a protective resin plate made of polypropylene or the like superimposed on the lower surface of the insulator main body 28. It is composed of a cover 30. When the operating sound (vibrational energy) of the motor 11 is incident on the insulator 26, the air bubbles in the insulator main body 28 vibrate, thereby converting the vibrational energy into thermal energy and suppressing the radiation of the operating sound.

5 and 6 show the insulator 26 alone, with FIG. 5 showing a perspective view and FIG. 6 showing the insulator 26 in a plan view. 7 is a cross-sectional view of insulator 26 along line VII--VII in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of insulator 26 along line VIII--VIII in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the insulator 26 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view that is slightly elongated in the vehicle width direction, and its surface is subjected to a water-repellent treatment. The insulator 26 is superimposed on the lower surface portion 22a so that the insulator main body 28 is in contact with the lower surface portion 22a, and the protective cover 30 is fixed to the lower surface portion 22a by bolts B, thereby attaching the motor 11 (motor case 22). installed.

The upper surface of the insulator main body 28, that is, the surface facing the motor case 22, is provided with a concave portion 34 (corresponding to a space forming portion of the present invention) that is concaved downward to form a space S between itself and the lower surface portion 22a. A drainage groove 36 (an example of a communication passage of the present invention) is formed to communicate S with the outside of the insulator 26 (insulator main body 28). With this configuration, when water enters between the motor 11 and the insulator 26, the water is drained to the outside through the drain groove 36 while flowing down into the recess 34 (space S).

The concave portion 34 is formed at a position corresponding to at least the plug 24 in the lower surface portion 22a of the motor case 22, as shown in FIG. In this example, the concave portion 34 has an oval shape (track shape) elongated in the direction in which the plugs 24 are arranged (the vehicle width direction) so as to enclose the respective plugs 24 . Thereby, each plug 24 is arranged in the space S as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the inner bottom surface 34a of the concave portion 34 is a flat inclined surface that slopes downward from the right side to the left side. The drain groove 36 is connected to the left end of the recess 34, that is, the position where the inner bottom surface 34a is the lowest. As a result, the water in the concave portion 34 is collected in the drain groove 36 .

The drainage groove 36 is connected to the recess 34 at the right end of the recess 34 at the central portion in the front-rear direction and extends leftward in the vehicle width direction. As described above, the motor 11 is arranged on the right side of the center of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction (the position of the dashed-dotted line L in FIG. 1). It can be said that it extends toward the central part.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 23 are formed on the lower surface portion 22a of the motor case 22 so as to protrude downward and extend in the front-rear direction. In this example, three ribs 23 (a total of six ribs 23) are provided on each of the front and rear sides of the region where the plug 24 is provided in the lower surface portion 22a at approximately equal intervals in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper surface of the insulator body 28 is formed with rib grooves 32 extending in the front-rear direction for allowing the ribs 23 to escape. One end of each rib groove 32 is connected to the recess 34 , and the inner bottom surface of each rib groove 32 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the recess 34 . With this configuration, the water entering each rib groove 32 is collected in the concave portion 34 (space S).

Although the configuration of the insulators 26 fixed to the lower surface portion 22a of the motor case 22 has been described here, the insulators 26 fixed to the front surface portion, the rear surface portion, and the right end surface portion of the motor case 22 also have recesses 34 and drainage. The basic configuration is the same as that of the insulator 26 fixed to the lower surface portion 22a except that the groove 36 and the like are not provided.

[Effect]
According to the motor 11 as described above, even if water enters between the insulator 26 and the motor body 20 due to hoisting during running or high-pressure washing of the underside of the vehicle, the water is removed by the recessed portion 34 of the insulator body 28. The water flows into the formed space S and is drained to the outside through the drainage groove 36 . Therefore, the plug 24 provided on the lower surface portion 22a of the motor body 20 is less likely to be submerged in water (the plug 24 is less likely to come into contact with water), and rusting of the plug 24 is effectively suppressed even though the insulator 26 is provided.

In particular, since the inner bottom surface 34 a of the concave portion 34 is formed as a sloped surface that slopes downward toward the drainage groove 36 , the water flowing into the space S is smoothly guided toward the drainage groove 36 . Therefore, it is difficult for water to accumulate in the space S (good drainage), and flooding of the plug 24 is effectively suppressed.

Furthermore, the drain groove 36 extends from the recess 34 (space S) along the motor body 20, and the drain groove 36 communicates with the outside on the side surface of the insulator 26, so that the soundproof effect (sound absorption effect) is significantly impaired. It is possible to drain water from the concave portion 34 to the outside. That is, it is conceivable to provide a through hole (communication path) penetrating downward in the inner bottom surface 34 a of the recess 34 . It is conceivable that it leaks directly downward through the holes, which reduces the soundproofing effect. However, according to the structure of the above-described embodiment in which the drain groove 36 communicates with the outside on the side surface of the insulator 26, the operating sound of the motor body 20 is incident on the inner bottom surface 34a of the recess 34 or reflected by the inner bottom surface 34a. is suppressed from leaking directly. Therefore, it is possible to drain the water in the concave portion 34 to the outside without significantly impairing the soundproofing effect.

Moreover, since the drain groove 36 extends from the recessed portion 34 (space S) toward the center in the vehicle width direction, it is possible to prevent water from entering the interior of the insulator 26 through the drain groove 36. Suppressed.

In addition, in the above configuration in which the drain groove 36 is provided in the insulator 26, there is a concern that part of the operating sound of the motor body 20 may leak to the outside through the drain groove 36 to some extent. However, according to the structure in which the drain groove 36 extends from the recessed portion 34 (space S) toward the vehicle width direction central portion of the vehicle 1 as described above, the operating sound leaks toward the vehicle 1 central portion, and That is, it is difficult to leak toward the front-rear outer side and left-right outer side of the vehicle 1 . Therefore, there is no fear that the soundproofing effect is significantly impaired.

[Modifications, etc.]
The motor 11 described above is an example of a preferred embodiment of a vehicle motor according to the present invention, and its specific configuration can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

(1) In the embodiment, the drain groove 36 of the insulator 26 extends from the recess 34 (space S) toward the vehicle width direction central portion of the vehicle 1. In cases such as when the level is negligible, a configuration in which the drainage groove 36 extends in a direction other than the direction of the embodiment may be adopted.

(2) In the embodiment, the drain groove 36 is provided in the insulator main body 28 as a communication passage that communicates the recess 34 (space S) with the outside, that is, a passage for discharging water. However, the communication path is not limited to the drainage groove 36, and may be a through hole that communicates the recess 34 (space S) with the outside as long as the drainage performance can be ensured. However, in the case of the drain groove 36, the passage is less likely to be clogged with water compared to a communication passage such as a through-hole that is entirely surrounded, and even if the amount of water flowing into the space S is large, relatively smooth drainage is possible. It becomes possible. Moreover, since a punching die for forming the through holes is not required, it is advantageous in terms of manufacturing the insulator main body 28 .

(3) The insulator 26 (insulator main body 28) may exhibit a soundproofing effect by insulating sound, other than one that exhibits a soundproofing effect mainly by absorbing sound.

(4) In the embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a running motor (motor 11) of a vehicle 1 that is a range extender EV has been described. ) and range extender EV, the present invention can be applied to motors for running that are applied to hybrid vehicles other than range extender EVs, as long as the motors are of a type that circulates coolant (cooling water) inside.

1 Vehicle 2 Wheel 10 Drive Unit 11 Motor 14 Inverter 20 Motor Body 22 Motor Case 22a Lower Surface Part 24 Plug 26 Insulator 28 Insulator Body 30 Protective Cover 34 Recess (Space Forming Part)
34a inner bottom surface 36 drainage groove (communication passage)
PT Power train PG Power generation unit S Space

Claims (5)

A running motor mounted on a vehicle,
a motor body having a flow path in which cooling liquid flows;
a plug for extracting cooling liquid detachably provided on the lower surface of the motor body;
an insulator attached to the lower surface so as to cover the plug;
The insulator is
a space forming portion recessed downward at least at a position corresponding to the plug and forming a space with the lower surface portion;
A motor for a vehicle, comprising: a communication passage that communicates between the space and the outside of the insulator. The vehicle motor according to claim 1,
A motor for a vehicle, wherein the communication path extends from the space forming portion along the motor body and communicates with the outside on a side surface of an insulator. In the vehicle motor according to claim 2,
A motor for a vehicle, wherein the communication path is formed of a groove extending along the motor body. The vehicle motor according to claim 2 or 3,
The motor is arranged at a position deviated to the left or right from the vehicle width direction central portion of the vehicle,
The vehicle motor, wherein the communication path extends from the space forming portion toward the center portion in the vehicle width direction. The vehicle motor according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A motor for a vehicle, wherein part or all of an inner bottom surface of the space forming portion is formed of an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the communicating passage.

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